Young people, come forward and dedicate yourselves to service of the Eucharist
The archbishop of Lahore launched this appeal yesterday while marking the 50th anniversary of Fr Arnold Stalpaert OFM the 'lion of Sialkot' in the priesthood.
Sialkot (AsiaNews) Mgr Lawrence John Saldanha launched an appeal to Pakistani youth to "come forward and to dedicate themselves to service of the Eucharist in order to be of help and support in the religious field."
"To celebrate the Eucharist, the theme of the Synod of Bishops, we need priests," he said yesterday in Sialkot parish, where around 1,600 faithful marked the 50th anniversary in the priesthood of the Capuchin priest Arnold Stalpaert.
"I am happy that I am here with you to pray and to thank God for the presence of Fr Arnold in our Archdiocese of Lahore. We are here to thank him for his faithful services over the last 50 years," continued the archbishop.
"When I was a priest in Anarkali parish, we were close friends for two years. I was in charge of the city parish while he went to the villages of the Shahdara parish. He has a great sense of humour and as an old friend I congratulate him for his dedicated and committed service to the people of our Archdiocese."
The appeal to youth came at the end: "The Synod which opens today in Rome is focused on the Eucharist, for which we need priests. Young people, come forward to dedicate yourselves to service of the Eucharist, in order to be of help and support in the religious field."
Fr Emmanuel Asi addressed the congregation after the archbishop, and he highlighted the importance of the Capuchin's service. "Divine choice is not made thanks to our personal merits; it arises out of grace, which God has shown in the 50 years of service of Fr Arnold. Today we remember his parents, relatives and friends and all the Belgian people who deprived themselves of Fr Arnold to send him to Pakistan as a missionary.
"All the pastoral and sacramental works he undertook in various convents in the two districts of Sialkot and Gujranwala, were carried out in silence; he showed consistency through his life not his words. Fr Arnold is a happy person and being happy is a way of giving thanks to the Lord who made us in his image. Just as Karachi is considered as the gateway to Islam in the subcontinent, Sialkot is considered the gateway to Christianity." This was a reference to the missionary work of the Capuchins, which started in this place in 1888. At the end of his address, Fr Asi took up the archbishop's appeal: "The brothers of Fr Arnold are also priests and I ask you, if you are so called, to dedicate your life to the priesthood. The number of Christians is growing in Pakistan, and we need more and more priests to work in the vineyard of the Lord."
Fr Francis Nadeem, Vice Provincial of the Capuchin order, defined his Capuchin brother as "faithful, obedient and committed. We have given him the title of 'lion of Sialkot' for his great service and we pray that he may have a long and yet fruitful life."
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